The world of finance has been making great strides with respect to embracing social media as a form of cultivating strong customer relationships and maintaining powerful brand loyalty. Only a short time ago, the financial community approached social media with some reluctance and reservation, in large part due to privacy concerns.
As misconceptions regarding the nature of social media have over time been dispelled, the financial advisor is now more apt to be in tune with the diversity of the social media options and the resources each has to offer.
In contrast to traditional marketing and websites, which enable only a one-directional flow of communication to or ‘at’ the customer, social media allow users to interact with a brand, in turn, building a further sense of community and a much stronger sense of brand awareness and loyalty. For you, the financial professional, social media have become a crucial means of diversifying marketing strategies and growing your business and customer network.
Online communities such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are currently the most productive ways of meeting prospects and maintaining contact with existing customers. Yes, it’s imperative to invest some time and effort in creating and managing your social media accounts and profiles, but time is virtually the only thing you do have to invest – social media are of very little to no financial cost – but the benefits are nothing short of astronomical! With over 20 million Canadians currently on Facebook and over 200 million tweets being posted per day on Twitter, just think about the implications these numbers have for your business. Ten to 1, more of your customers and prospects than you think are connected and that means you should be too!!
Facebook can undoubtedly propel your business to the forefront of the financial industry. By setting up a Facebook ‘Fan Page’ in addition to your profile, you are creating a stronger online presence for your business as well as enhancing its reputation. There are various uses for a fan page – i.e.: creating events; starting discussion posts; running social ads; sending simultaneous messages to everyone and viewing your page statistics – just to name a few. Facebook truly is an exceptionally useful tool.
Twitter is a great way of distributing short, relevant bursts of information to an extremely wide audience. To generate some buzz for your business, simply tweet away on its virtues to create interest and entice prospects to want to check out your Facebook page (you can link the accounts so that they’re interactive) and your website. Twitter is a terrific means of support for your Facebook account, your website and your Blog (see below).
A LinkedIn profile is highly recommended, as LinkedIn has categorically become the number one connection-based referral source for business professionals. LinkedIn is in fact the only one of the social networking sites that is truly exclusive to the business professional. A LinkedIn profile is a crucial element within your social media campaign.
Perhaps the most meaningful of the social media in terms of the financial professional, is the Blog. What can a blog do for you and your business? It can generate buzz as you blog to relay relevant financial news and information to your clients and prospects – information that they will find very useful. You’ll look like the hero – the veritable go-to guru for all things financial! A blog is a functional tool for building trust between you and your customers & prospects – a forum within which you can be as creative and descriptive as you wish. Have some fun!
For those still wary about the risks involved with marketing via social media, consider the unprecedented intelligence gathering prospects these platforms offer. The ability to better understand customer requirements and preferences is one of the strongest arguments for financial advisors to join the millions already connected within the realm of social media.
As you ponder, remember that delaying your foray into social media will not serve you well – while you’re waiting, your competitors are proceeding and evolving, establishing themselves as the experts in the financial industry. To avoid the battle of winning over your competitors’ followers, let us help you get connected today!
For a schedule of our full-day, hands-on Social Media for Business workshops, please just click here http://www.escomputertraining.com/courses/details/industry/2/course/20 and we’ll get you started!
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